


Midnight

by ghibliterritory



Series: Mileven Week 2018 [4]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Eleven is... still Eleven, F/M, Genderbending, Mike is now Mikki, Mileven Week, it's like a short retelling of a canon conversation honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-09
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-21 02:08:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16567574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghibliterritory/pseuds/ghibliterritory
Summary: Mikki Wheeler doesn't know what to think of the boy in her basement.for Mileven Week 2018





	Midnight

November 7th, 1983.

 

Mikki could see it as the clock turned to midnight. It had been a whole 24 hours since Wilma- one of her best friends- went missing. It had been less than that since she was interviewed by police, ignored in favor of stupid rules and fathers being overprotective. And to top it all off, it hadn’t even been three hours since she found a boy in the woods who most certainly was not Wilma.

 

That boy sat in a makeshift fort on the opposite end of the basement, quiet. Mikki hadn’t bothered trying to talk to him for a while. After they found him, he’d been… less inclined to talk than most people. She didn’t mind- she wasn’t really in the mood to talk either, overcome with worry. But it was awkward. You’d think after helping someone like she had, they’d be more talkative with one another. Mikki wondered if he was still scared of her. Or maybe if he didn’t know how to talk a lot.

 

She pondered over that, and slid off the basement’s loveseat to move by the fort. She caught a glimpse of him, looking at his wrist. They’d thrown on some of her dad’s clothes that he had wanted to give away, and they were just a little too big on him. But Mikki didn’t really care about that. Just him, looking at the ink on his wrist, with a look in his eyes that she couldn’t place.

 

“What does that mean?” She asked, making the boy jump. He looked at her like a deer in headlights, and a weird guilty feeling made its way into her stomach. “Sorry, I- I didn’t mean to scare you. Just… curious is all. Never seen a kid with a tattoo.”

 

He blinked, moving his wrist close to him for a second- protecting whatever was etched into his skin. She bit the inside of her lip. “I’m not gonna judge. I think it’s cool, you know- I always wanted one. What does it say?” Mikki spoke softly, scooting forward just an inch. He stared. Then, slowly, moved to show her his wrist. “011” was all it said, simple and dark. She furrowed her brow, and reached out her hand…

 

The boy snapped his wrist back, and she looked up. “Sorry! Sorry.” She muttered, pulling her hand back. “011… what does that mean? Is it like a code?” She kept staring at his wrist, wondering it’s meaning.

 

“Eleven.” The boy whispered. Mikki’s eyes shifted back to his face, which was as stoic as it had been the whole night. He pointed to his chest, hands barely trembling. “Eleven.”

 

He was Eleven.

 

“Eleven, huh?” Mikki nodded. “Alright. Eleven. Well, I’m Michelle. I guess we never really got introduced.” She gave a half-laugh at that, sticking out her hand. “So. Yeah. Michelle. But, most people call me Mikki.”

 

Eleven stared at her hand, and for a minute, Mikki forgot that he probably didn’t know what a handshake was. But she was surprised when he gently took it, giving a small shake. Mikki grinned and took her hand away. Then, she got an idea. “Maybe, instead of Eleven, since it’s long… we can call you El for short. If that’s okay, anyway.” Eleven furrowed his brow a bit, but he didn’t seem to dislike it. “El..” He muttered. Something in his eye sparkled. “El. Okay.”

 

Mikki’s heart nearly melted. “Alright- El. Cool. El is cool.”

 

Footsteps above made Mikki’s heart jolt, and she quickly tossed a blanket over the entrance to the fort. The basement’s door creaked open.

 

“Mikki, what are you doing down here? You were supposed to be in bed hours ago!” Her father called down. Mikki quickly moved to look up the stairs, offering a sheepish grin. “Sorry, just give me a second!”

 

Her father said nothing, but shook his head, turning and shutting the door behind him. Mikki went back and lifted the blanket, revealing a confused El. “Don’t worry, it’s just my dad. He’s nice. But, I’ve got to go. You can stay in here, or sleep on the couch if you want. No one comes down here except me.”

 

Eleven gently nodded, sort of understanding. Mikki smiled. “Alright. See you tomorrow, El- goodnight.”

 

With that, she crawled back and dashed up the stairs to her room. El watched her go, letting his fingers trace the “011” tattoo.

 

“Goodnight, Mikki.”


End file.
